So here we are with Korn’s second outing, Life Is Peachy, and man, what a weird beast this one is. These Bakersfield nutjobs were still figuring out their sound back in ’96, but honestly? That’s what makes this album so damn compelling. Sure, everyone talks about their self-titled debut or Follow the Leader, but Life Is Peachy is where they really let their freak flag fly without giving a shit about radio play or what anyone else thought.
Right off the bat, “Twist” comes at you like a demented carnival barker, Jonathan Davis doing his scat singing thing over 49 seconds of pure WTF energy. It’s like they’re saying “buckle up, assholes, this is gonna be a ride.” Then “Chi” rolls in with those signature dropped-down drums and that chorus that just punches you in the face. When JD drops into that breakdown section, it’s harsh as hell and absolutely perfect. This is Korn at their most unhinged.
“Lost” is probably the closest thing to a traditional Korn track on here, you know, the groovy verse into the screaming chorus formula that would make them millions later. It’s not groundbreaking, but it’s a fun listen that shows they could write hooks when they wanted to. “Swallow” keeps the groove going with Jonathan almost talking through the verses before exploding into heaviness, ending with that punk-ass “sissy I’m a freak” bit that’s just cool as fuck.
Then you get “Porno Creep” which is basically a groovy intermission that has no business being as catchy as it is. “Good God” brings back that classic Korn sound, Fieldy’s bass slapping the shit out of everything while the guitars screech and wail. The chorus is surprisingly clear and melodic before building into this wall of sound that just crushes you.
“Mr. Rogers” might be the weirdest track on here, which is saying something. It’s like musical hide and seek with multiple vocal layers, groovy as hell but somehow also growling and melodic at the same time. Only Korn could make something this bizarre work. The Ice Cube cover “Wicked” with Chino Moreno is a cool detour into rap territory, and “A.D.I.D.A.S.” gives us that classic “All Day I Dream About Sex” anthem that’s definitely more radio-friendly but still heavy enough to satisfy.
“Kill You” closes things out as this eerie, progressive beast that stretches over 8 minutes with a hidden track. It’s dark, it’s about killing, and it’s a perfect way to end an album that tried a bunch of different shit and mostly succeeded.
Look, I get it, this was another rush job recorded while the band was dealing with serious substance abuse issues. But sometimes chaos breeds greatness, and Life Is Peachy is proof of that. It’s not perfect, hell no, but it captures Korn at their most raw and experimental. They’d smooth out those rough edges on later albums, make them more commercial and accessible, but they’d also lose some of that edge, that harshness that made them so compelling in the first place.
This album might be a strange choice in Korn’s catalog, but it’s also one of their most honest. It’s messy, it’s weird, it’s sometimes uncomfortable, and that’s exactly why it works. If you want to hear Korn before they figured out how to play nice with radio programmers, this is your ticket.